How to Live a Happy Life, Even if You Don’t Win the Lottery

Happiness can be an elusive topic. Many people seek this state through pleasure, entertainment, and other materialistic pursuits.

This makes sense, as we live in a civilization where pleasure and mass consumption is at our command, and we’re presented with messages to have more and more, whether it be sex, food, sports, or shopping.

It seems that with access to all of these pleasures we would be the happiest people, right?

Unfortunately, this isn’t the case and we may have even become less happy in the process.

It may be that what we believe will lead to happiness just isn’t the case. Pleasure is important, but it just doesn’t bring lasting joy and happiness.

Episode#6 – How to Live a Happy Life, Even if You Don’t Win the Lottery

Today’s show is about how to live a happy life and why it’s more than pleasure, enjoyment, and wealth.

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We can be happy despite our life circumstances. We don’t need more wealth or more stuff, but simply to live lives of engagement, gratitude, optimism, and connection.

Doing so helps us and helps society at large. Happy people are simply better citizens, giving more to charity, helping others, being more productive and successful, having better health . . . the advantages of joy, happiness and contentment seem to be endless.

Highlights of the episode include:

How “the hedonic treadmill” phenomenon gets in the way of happiness.

Why money doesn’t make us happier.

How gratitude can help us be happier.

How optimists are happier people.

The power of engaging in life.

How to make connections with others.

I hope you enjoy the podcast! Send any questions or suggestions for future episodes to joe@shakeoffthegrind.com.

Great podcast, Joe. These are very well done! The “hedonistic treadmill” is an intriguing concept. When we are willing to admit that we attract problems into our life, we have begun our journey over a bridge to a rich new world to true happiness. First, we must see that we need no longer strain at acquiring more but must recognize that we are, and always have been, rich and majestic children of infinite intelligence. By practicing gratitude and optimism we can look at everyone, no matter what his station in
life, and understand that he is a rich and majestic child of infinite
intelligence. Now we see humanity as it truly is, and true happiness shall follow!

Joe @ Shakeoffthegrind

Rob,

I always appreciate your wisdom. There is something amazing that can happen if we are willing to transcend the superficial and materialistic messages presented to us. I think gratitude is one of the major states to help us deal with the ego and recognize as you mention the divine nature in everyone. This would certainly help in living with compassion instead of competition.